Foreign relations of Kazakhstan are primarily based on economic and political security. The Nazarbayev administration has tried to balance relations with Russia and the United States by sending petroleum and natural gas to its northern neighbor at artificially low prices while assisting the U.S. in the War on Terror. Kazakhstan is a member of the United Nations, Collective Security Treaty Organization, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, North Atlantic Cooperation Council, Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and NATO's Partnership for Peace program. Kazakhstan established a customs union with Russia and Belarus, transformed into the Eurasian Economical Community then in 2015 into the Eurasian Economic Union. President Nazarbayev has prioritized economic diplomacy into Kazakhstan's foreign policy.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, promotion of human rights, freedom of the press, and free and fair elections. It employs around 3,460 people, mostly in its field operations but also in its secretariat in Vienna, Austria, and its institutions.
Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan.
The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs is an international organization that brings together scholars and public figures to work toward reducing the danger of armed conflict and to seek solutions to global security threats. It was founded in 1957 by Joseph Rotblat and Bertrand Russell in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Canada, following the release of the Russell–Einstein Manifesto in 1955.
Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who is currently serving as the President of Kazakhstan since 20 March 2019. Between 20 March and 12 June 2019, he served as acting president after the resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who previously held the presidential post for nearly three decades.
Chatham House, also known as The Royal Institute of International Affairs, is a policy institute headquartered in London. Its stated mission is to help governments and societies build a sustainably secure, prosperous and just world. It is the originator of the Chatham House Rule.
Adam Daniel Rotfeld is a Polish researcher, diplomat, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland from 5 January 2005 until 31 October 2005 when a change of government took place. He served earlier as the deputy foreign minister. While in that position, Rotfeld established the Warsaw Reflection Group on the UN Reform and the Transformation of the Euro-Atlantic Security Institutions, with participation from leading US and European experts and politicians.
Elections in Kazakhstan are held on a national level to elect a President and the Parliament, which is divided into two bodies, the Majilis and the Senate. Local elections for maslihats are held every five years.
Human rights in Kazakhstan are uniformly described as poor by independent observers. Human Rights Watch says that "Kazakhstan heavily restricts freedom of assembly, speech, and religion. In 2014, authorities closed newspapers, jailed or fined dozens of people after peaceful but unsanctioned protests, and fined or detained worshipers for practicing religion outside state controls. Government critics, including opposition leader Vladimir Kozlov, remained in detention after unfair trials. Torture remains common in places of detention."
The Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE is an institution of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The primary task of the 323-member Assembly is to facilitate inter-parliamentary dialogue, an important aspect of the overall effort to meet the challenges of democracy throughout the OSCE area. The Parliamentary Assembly pursues objectives which are stated in the preamble of the Assembly's Rules of Procedure: assess the implementation of OSCE objectives by participating States; discuss subjects addressed during meetings of the Ministerial Council and summit meetings of OSCE Heads of State or Government; develop and promote mechanisms for the prevention and resolution of conflicts; support the strengthening and consolidation of democratic institutions in OSCE participating States; contribute to the development of OSCE institutional structures and of relations and co-operation between existing OSCE institutions.
Erzhan Hozeuly Kazykhanov is a Kazakh politician who serves as diplomat. Kazykhanov holds a newly created position in the presidential administration with the title of Special Representative for International Cooperation. Prior to his appointment as the Ambassador to the U.S., Kazykhanov has served as Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Before becoming Ambassador to the UK, he held the position of Assistant to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. He previously served as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, as well as the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Austria, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the International Organizations in Vienna and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.
The United States and the Republic of Kazakhstan established diplomatic relations on December 16, 1991. The United States opened its embassy in Almaty in January 1992 and then relocated to Astana in 2006.
The Center for Strategic Studies under the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SAM) is Azerbaijan’s first governmental, non-profit think tank founded on November 12, 2007, by the decree of the president, Ilham Aliyev. Its headquarters is in Baku, Azerbaijan. In February 2008, by the decree of the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Elkhan Nuriyev was appointed director of the Center for Strategic Studies, known by the acronym SAM in Azerbaijani language.
The Astana International Forum (AIF) is an international and regional platform for dialogue and a nonprofit organization headquartered in Astana, Kazakhstan. Previously called the Astana Economic Forum, it has been organized by the Government of Kazakhstan since 2008. The name change reflects the broader range of topics discussed at the forum, such as climate, food and energy security and is intended to draw of attendees from around the world. The Forum is organized by the Government of Kazakhstan, which includes the Economic Research Institute, Ministry of National Economy and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A meeting is held each year in Astana in which more than eight thousand delegates from one hundred countries are brought together: they include chief executive officers, politicians, journalists, scientists and Nobel Prize laureates. The 2023 Forum will be launched under the initiative of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Finland–Kazakhstan relations refers to the bilateral relations between Finland and Kazakhstan. Finland has an embassy in Nur-Sultan whilst Kazakhstan has an embassy in Helsinki. Both countries are members of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Relations between Turkic Council and Azerbaijan started from the year of 2009 until present. Taking into account of the establishment date of the organization, Azerbaijan continues relations as a member of the founding country.
Snap presidential elections were held in Kazakhstan on 9 June 2019 to elect the President of Kazakhstan following the resignation of long-term President Nursultan Nazarbayev in March 2019. This was the sixth presidential election held since Kazakhstan's independence. The elections were not free and fair, and were widely denounced as a sham. Acting president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Nur Otan won the election.
Rixos President Astana is a luxury (5-star) hotel, which is part of the international Rixos Hotels chain founded by Fettah Tamince Rixos President Astana constructed in 2005 in Astana by The Sembol İnşaat Construction Company The first president of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Nursultan Nazarbayev visited opening ceremony Rixos President Astana was constructed in 9 months and is the first 5 star hotel in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine was an international civilian observer mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mandated to contribute to reducing tensions and to help foster peace in Ukraine. The mission was deployed in March 2014, following the Russian annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of open conflict in eastern Ukraine. The mission ended on 31 March 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Yauheni Preiherman is a Belarusian political scientist and analyst who specializes in international affairs and regional security in Eastern Europe and heads the Minsk Dialogue Council on International Relations.
